"IT is an interesting ballet, one that has distinctive characteristics," says Zhang Yimou of his latest project, Raise the Red Lantern, the ballet, which he wrote and directed.

Having successfully directed Red Sorghum, Qiuju Goes to Court, Ju Dou, and To Live, among others, and won a number of international prizes, Zhang Yimou is now generally regarded as a hot topic within the Chinese media, a money spinner by the commercial sector, and a master of film direction by his public. An established film maker, Zhang has also made several forays into other realms of the arts. He directed the Italian opera Turandot, a documentary in support of China's 2008 Olympic Bid, an MTV celebrating PRC's 50th anniversary, and most recently the ballet, Raise the Red Lantern. Apart from the sensation they caused within the media, these ventures have added little to Zhang's reputation, since they have not so far helped him to transcend his cinematic success. They have also been something of a frustration to Zhang enthusiasts, as since he began dabbling in other fields his film output has dwindled.

In staging Raise the Red Lantern and inviting Zhang Yimou to be director, it appears that the Central Ballet Troupe used Zhang's celebrity to attract public attention. The plot of this ballet is similar to Zhang's eponymous film: prior to being forced to become the third concubine of a lord, the heroine is in love with a young actor. One day, the lord takes his wives to a play and the heroine meets her former lover. The two have a secret meeting while the lord plays mahjong. The second concubine informs on the heroine, in order to regain the lord's favor, whereupon the lord has the heroine and her lover beaten to death. "The thread is love. The story reflects how women were trampled over in feudal society and how they tried to revolt against it. The major theme of the ballet is the pursuit of love and freedom," explains Zhang.

There are some theatergoers who disapprove of this story, saying, with a touch of irony, that White-haired Girl and the Red Detachment of Women, both national ballets performed by order of Jiang Qing (Chairman Mao Zedong's wife) during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976), truly reflected how women resisted oppression and pursued liberation, while Zhang's Raise the Red Lantern merely relates a tale of adultery. Those of a more orthodox opinion believe that the ballet focuses on the darker side of life, which they see as being at odds with what they believe to be the principle aim of ballet -- to reflect a sense of brightness and perfection.

The greatest aspect of public interest is the story's telling through the medium of dance, rather than the story itself, which the majority, having seen the film, already knows. During rehearsals, Zhang repeatedly told the media that he is a mere layman when it comes to dance, and at the news conference prior to the ballet's debut, Zhang reiterated, "I know nothing about ballet, and can only contribute a few general suggestions. This has caused difficulties for Wang Xinpeng, the choreographer, and the dancers, as when, for example, after performing for me a choreographed section of dance, I came up with a few ideas, the work then had to be re-choreographed and re-learned. The choreographer and dancers really worked hard. So, credit for the excellent dancing goes to Wang Xinpeng. I did personally direct one passage, about 30 seconds in length, but it had no dancing."

When directing Turandot, Zhang Yimou also repeatedly declared that he did not know opera. In his latest venture, although Zhang admits to being totally unfamiliar with ballet techniques, its stage directions are in the distinctive Zhang Yimou style, being reminiscent of the visual shock filming effect. For example, at the start of the ballet, 44 large red pendant lanterns swing about on stage. At the point where the lord forces the heroine to submit, their silhouettes are projected onto a huge paper screen, making a deep visual impact on the audience. When the heroine and her lover are put to death, the executioner strikes a white wall with a red club, upon which red weals appear, symbolizing the brutal process of the execution. These techniques, although by no means new, are used effectively to create an ambience appropriate to the story. Zhang also makes use of cinematic lighting techniques to express the characters' psychological reactions as the plot develops.

As the heroine's lover is an actor in the Peking opera, Zhang Yimou incorporated strands of traditional Peking opera into the ballet. A qipao (a woman's mandarin gown) is also worn, the sound of a game of mahjong is musically intimated, and a professional Peking opera actor serves as foil for the ballerina's solo. Zhang has obviously tried, painstakingly, to create a classical ballet with strong Chinese characteristics. It may also be that he hopes to attract the attention of Western balletomanes, as the ballet is scheduled to go on a global performance tour.

Despite Zhang's efforts to imbue the ballet with distinctive Chinese characteristics, all those he selected to work on the ballet have, more or less, foreign backgrounds. For example, the composer Chen Qigang is a Chinese musician sojourning in France. He is already a respected composer within contemporary European musical circles and his works are performed all over the world. Wang Xinpeng, who resides in Germany, is the ballet's choreographer, and has recently won accolades for his work with various celebrated European ballet troupes. Finally, Zeng Li, who was the stage designer for Zhang Yimou's Florence version of Turandot, was responsible for the ballet's stage design. The participation of a famous French fashion designer and a stage lighting designer added a discernibly international flavor to this ballet.

However, the ballet's notices, after its debut on the Beijing stage this spring, were mixed. Nearly all the negative criticism is directed towards Zhang Yimou. The show has been said to be a mixture of Peking opera, shadow play, modern dance, cartoon, group calisthenics and drama -- everything but ballet. There are those who believe that it is geared solely to shock the audience, and that it is devoid of artistic appeal. Professionals think that the ballet should concentrate more on dance vocabulary as a means to express the protagonists' characters, to propel the plot, and to convey conflict. However, as Zhang Yimou is virtually ballet-blind, he would in all likelihood make himself a laughing stock were he to attempt to tell this story through balletic techniques. Jiang Zuhui, former head of the Central Ballet Troupe, said, "The manner of expression (in this ballet) is over-realistic and the elements of Peking Opera are too strong. The characters' personalities are not fully defined. The pas de deux should be the high point of this ballet, but it is not adequately expressed." Liu Ying, head of Tianjin Ballet Troupe, commented, "The dance vocabulary is not clear, the climax is inadequately handled, and it is too strongly dependent on stage drama techniques."

However, all had high praise for its music and stage design. The eminently Chinese music has at the same time an implicitly modern spirit. It encompasses elements of Peking Opera, and the songs, melodies and percussion originating in Chinese folk music, intertwined and expressed in a contemporary style. Complex musical components, including the movingly melodic pas de deux, the suona (a woodwind instrument) and sheng (a reed pipe wind instrument) solos, the sound of shuffling mahjong tiles, and the dialogue between the erhu (a two-stringed bowed instrument) and violoncello are organically arranged to achieve perfect integration and harmony. Qipao were, for the first time, worn on the ballet stage, and their striking styles and colors delighted the audience. The 44 large red lanterns suspended and swinging about on the stage upon curtain rise also drew the eye, as did the moveable multiple-layered partition doors.

Zhang Yimou is talented but not necessarily versatile. This ballet can only be regarded as another Zhang Yimou style artistic venture -- interesting, stimulating, distinctive, but by no means classic.

By LI XIA